HALIFAX, NS: The Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) is calling on provincial politicians to reign in government workers sick time benefits after new numbers obtained through the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act shows number of workers calling in sick remains stubbornly high.
According to documents from the Nova Scotia Public Service Commission the average number of sick days taken by full-time provincial government employees is 13.9 in 2014-15 up slightly from 13.7 in 2013-14. These numbers apply to core public service. Government workers through their collective agreement are entitled to take 18 days sick a year.
Government workers are taking far more sick days than those taxpayers working outside of government who according to Statistics Canada in 2014 took an average of 8.4 sick days.
“It’s time to end this sick time racket once and for all,” said Kevin Lacey, Atlantic Director with the CTF. “This entitlement is costing taxpayers millions with nothing to show for it.”
Last year Nova Scotia’s Public Service Commissioner said sick days cost the government $26 million.
The CTF wants to see the government roll back sick time entitlements and have employee sick time tracked to see if there are any patterns to absenteeism. A recent study by the CTF found the most commonly taken sick days were during bad weather, Olympic hockey games and Christmas Holidays.
In New Brunswick the government reduced sick time from 2011-12 to 2014-15 by 17 per cent, saving taxpayers millions. Savings were achieved partially through sick time tracking.
Lacey says he doesn’t understand why unions resist changes to sick time entitlements.
“There are government workers who are abusing their sick time entitlements and taking free days off, and that means more work for the diligent employees who work hard and play by the rules,” added Lacey.
You can find information on the CTF Freedom of Information request HERE
Note*: According to the Public Service Commission, the Nova Scotia government had 10,144 full time employees.
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